Going Under
by Flying Feather
Summary: A young Artemis only wanted to wish her father well on Father's Day. Some things don't go as planned. Late Father's Day/Song fic.


"Weak! Pathetic! I can hire any monkey to be a body. Any moron can take a hit and be used as a pawn. I'm_ not_ training you to be a _pawn_, girl! I'm training you to be the_ player!_"

Her father's cold words seem to sting more today. She tried to reason with herself that it had nothing to do with today or what it meant; it was just any other day. He was just doing what he always did. Disciplining, degrading, trying to breed perfection. Nothing new. Today was just like any other day.

_Now I will tell you what I've done for you. Fifty thousand tears I've cried._

Slowly she stood up, wiping the salty tears with the back of her hand. Her knees were shaking, her body was exhausted. "Artemis! Never show signs of weakness! _Never!_" She tried to regain her composure as quickly as she could knowing her father would spare no time for such things. He was oblivious to feelings. Narrowing her eyes, she watched her father charge at her, fists pulling back to land a hit. She sprung into a back flip, her body bending at sore angles to avoid another beating. Her landing was sloppy, her ankles almost snapping at the impact she made against the training mat. Her father continued fling his fists in her direction, each time getting closer and closer to her. Her heart quickened every time she saw that flash in his eyes; that hungry look he held when he went in for the kill.

_Screaming, deceiving and bleeding for you. And you still won't hear me, going under._

"Ahh!" The young girl crumpled to the ground like paper when a strong upper cut from her father's gloved fist landed on her chin. Her eyes flashed fear as she saw her father for a split second smile, his hands going behind her and grabbing at her ponytail. He yanked back on her locks like they were rope. "I thought I told you to cut this mess! This will only _slow _you down! This is a _weakness!_ Any opponent with half a brain will use this to their advantage!" Angrily, he tossed her towards the ground, ignoring the whimper his daughter made. "Look at you; a bloody mess."

The child felt ashamed of herself. She hated letting her father down, especially on a day like today. A day where she was supposed to make him proud. She could feel the tears lingering in her eyes and hastily she blinked them away, her father snorting at her. She looked up, in hopes that he would say something instead of just glaring. He looked so disappointed, so furious. Not only at her, but almost at himself. "I could have _killed _you just now, girl. I could have _ripped_ you in half. And what do you do? You sit on the floor and _cry._" Artemis always tried to tell herself that her father never had true intent on seriously injuring her, or even killing her, during their training sessions. He only said things like that to prove a point. He loved her... or at least he was supposed to.

"Maybe you're not fit for this life. Maybe you're not as good as your sister."

It was like something cold pierced her heart. She simply stared up at her father, shivering and bleeding on the floor with shock. No, she was just as good as Jade. Really she was. She just needed more practice. She just needed to train and show her father that she was. It's just that... well, today she didn't want to be on the mats. Today, she wanted to be with her _father _instead of _the Sportsmaster_.

Sighing, the older man took a few short strides over to his youngest daughter. He casually, almost forcefully, threw out his hand in hopes to get Artemis back on her feet and into the game. "Well don't just sit there. You're just a waste of time when you do that."

_Don't want your hand this time, I'll save myself. Maybe I'll wake up for once._

Gritting her teeth together, Artemis stood up, slapping her father's hand away. That bastard. That malicious, cold-hearted, villain. She'd show him who was a waste of time! She began her assault on the man. A quick spinning kick to his legs caught him off guard, his body falling to the floor, and like an animal sizing up it's prey, Artemis went in for the kill. She jumped on top of her father, who by this time was on his guard, and began applying her tiny fists into his face. The first two punches landed, the the third was stopped, her hand snatched by the man's large one. He applied pressure to her bones, his dry lips curving into a smile as she flinched but didn't give into the tears traveling down her bruised cheeks.

"There's my girl. Show me what you've got. Show me what you've _got!_"

_Not tormented daily, defeated by you._

Artemis replied with a shrill battle like scream, thrusting her head forward into her father's nose, hardly satisfied by the crunch it made. Her father let out a howl and freed himself from the position on the ground ignoring the blood now gushing over his grin. He stepped back, Artemis quickly creating a speedy like attack on the older. A flurry of kicks and punches were poured out into her father's direction, her cries and grunts echoing off the training room's walls.

Damn, that man! Today was supposed to be special. Today was his day; it was Father's Day! A day where she should be thanking her father and loving him instead of punching him until he's unconscious. It wasn't fair! It wasn't fair at all! He had robbed her of her childhood, of her friends and of her mother! And now he robbed her of their relationship; of being his daughter! It _wasn't _fair!

She never got to think more on the subject, because her father was tired of playing around. He slammed his elbow into the crook of her back, her startled scream cut off by the floor meeting her face. In just a few seconds, he had stopped her barrage; he had ended her.

_Just when I thought, I reached the bottom. I'm dying again, I'm going under._

"You really had me going there for a while, girl. But you're distracted. You can't afford to be distracted on the battlefield, Artemis. It could cost you your life."

His words were like poison to her. He barely acknowledge her attack, simply shrugged it off as some sort of gimmick. He was lecturing her now, but she wasn't listening. She laid on the floor, blonde hair spewed out behind her as she silently cried and willed her pain away. She had wanted to kill him just now, wanted to rip his clean clean off his shoulders for his arrogance. He knew so much of battle and death, but yet he knew so little about being a mentor, about being a father...

_Drowning in you, I'm falling forever._

"Just shut up," Artemis muttered interrupting her father's slew of reprimands. "I get it."

Her father chuckled, one of those haunting, half amused chuckles and replied: "Really? You get it? Then you'll be showing me again just how well you _'get it'_."

She snapped her eyes closed, bringing her arms around herself almost shielding her weakened form from her father's harsh gaze. He snarled at the gesture, his hand dipping down viciously and pulling one of her arms up and hoisting his daughter to her feet. "Is that how you 'get it'? You whimper and shake on the floor like a dog? All I see from that is a scared, worthless and pathetic little girl wishing to be with her mother! Wishing for better things to pretend that she isn't in the real world! _Fight_, Artemis!"

_I've got to break through, I'm going under._

He flipped her like a sack of potatoes over his shoulder and onto the mats. She barked out in pain, scrambling to her feet ans slipping her wrist and arm back from her father's clutches. It was him who didn't get anything. It was him who was pathetic! It was him that was going to be sorry.

Running at him with all the speed she could muster, the young girl jumped up as soon as she was inches from him. He made to kick her legs, but was surprised to see her in the air, her own foot landing a powerful hit upside his head. The man stumbled backwards, but there was no time for rest. Artemis advanced on him quicker than the last, learning from her mistakes and focusing on the task at hand; subduing him. He had and sore left shoulder that she could use to her advantage. If she hit it with enough force, he would certainly be vulnerable to any attack. Cleverly dodging the burst of fists he sent her way, Artemis nimbly stepped and flipped backwards, leading her father towards the edge of the mats and to the wall. With the wall, she could use it's structure to run up it and land a aerial kick right into that shoulder of his. And, if she was lucky, push his big, fat head right into the wall.

"What are you doing? Trying to lure me to the wall? It won't work. I'm smarter than you. Better than you. Anything you can think of, I've already thought of," he mocked, stopping his attacks and taking a few steps backwards. "Don't make your decisions so obvious."

_Blurring and stirring the truth and the lies. So I don't know what's real and what's not._

He was just bluffing, trying to throw her off course. He couldn't really know what she was planning. He knew it was something, but he didn't know _what_. She narrowed her glossy hues, crouching low and glaring up at him. She'd _make_ him come to her. She was going to use that wall and he had no say in it. Her father shook his head, his index finger pointing at her. "You're being _stupid_. You're sister was never like this. She was a _real _strategic fighter. She didn't need me to hold her hand."

There he went, pounding away at her already crushed spirits. Artemis was tempted to jump forward, claw out his eyes with her nails, but she stopped herself.

_Always confusing the thoughts in my head. So I can't trust myself anymore._

That was just what he wanted. He _wanted_ her to be unsure, _wanted_ her to fall for his plan! "Come on, girl! I've got all day!" No. No way. She wasn't going to please this mad man anymore. She had figured out his game and she wasn't going to play. Angerily, she stood up tall, pushing some of her loose locks out of her eyes and plastering them back onto her wet, sticky hair. She was done. She was done trying to please him, done being_ his_ pawn. He could never be pleased. He'd always find a reason, always find something to smash her heart with.

Artemis knew she had been dreaming this morning when she woke up thinking she could try and make this Father's Day special. No, she didn't have a father, just Sportsmaster. It was a shame it'd taken her this long to realize it.

She sighed, slightly dim at the thought that unlike most girls who were giving hand made cards and special candies to their fathers, that she was stuck covered in blood and sweat doing extensive training with hers. She felt saddened, but not broken. If Sportsmaster had taught her anything, it was to adapt and take things in stride, to not show emotion, to not be used by others. And that included _him_.

She began to walk off the training mat, her feet making smacking sounds against the mat as the sweat from her skin stuck to the material. "What on Earth are you doing, Artemis? Get back on the mat! Get back here!" Sportsmaster bellowed, replacing his battle stance with an furious one. "You don't get to simply walk away!"

_So go on and scream. Scream at me, I'm so far away._

Sportsmaster narrowed his eyes. He stood his ground, fingers curling into fists as he grew impatient watching Artemis simply ignore him. She headed over towards the bench, her sight set on her gym bag. She could hear him stomping over towards him but suddenly, Artemis found that she didn't care anymore. She didn't care to please him anymore. No, not today. Today was just like every other day. Unzipping her pack, she slowly pulled out a pink, hand made card, her slim fingers debating hiding it back into the depths of her bag.

"_HEY!_"

Sportsmaster was behind her in an instant, snatching the card out of her hand and shouting in her face. Her tired hues simply glared back, too exhausted to really give him any more challenges for the day. "What the_ Hell _do you think you're doing, girl? I tell you when this session is done! _You_ don't get to make those rules! _I _do!"

Quietly, Artemis glanced down at the card he had snatched from her with out so much as a second glance. She wanted to cry, wanted to scream. But she didn't. She wouldn't. Today wasn't special anymore. It was just a regular day. And being a regular day, that rendered that card useless and unnecessary.

_I won't be broken again._

"Just what on Earth are you doing?"

"I'm doing what you trained me to do," Artemis explained casually, almost delicately. She could feel the shake in her voice, but she didn't care. She lightly pushed past the older man, her shoulder brushing against his arm. "I'm not being a pawn anymore." She turned her head over her shoulder and added, "Even for you."

_I've got to breathe, I can't keep going under._

And with that, she turned her heel on the man. She could feel her heart rattling inside her chest as she crossed over towards the opposite side of the room. She had done it. She had done the one thing no daughter should do to her father on a day like today; she had removed herself from his watch and care. She had declared independence. In a way, she had made note that he was unworthy of such things, especially on a today like today.

Dumbfounded, the man seemed to be at a lost for words. "Y-You... you..." Sportsmaster seemed rattled. He let her walk off, his finger absentmindedly crushing the paper her had snatched from her seconds prior. It wasn't until the 'crunch' sound reached his ears that his eyes tore away from Artemis' narrow form and to the piece of paper. Stiffly, he ignored the girl for the time being, his eyes occasionally darting up to watch her sit on the bench opposite from this one.

His rough fingers did their best to smooth out the pink card and not smear the colorful ink that read: 'Happy Father's Day' on the top in curly letters and decorated with glitter. He found that his mouth was growing increasingly dry as he opened the inside revealing a hand drawn picture of himself and Artemis holding hands and smiling.

For once in his life, Sportsmaster had nothing to say, his hands shaking and threatening to rip the paper.

Silently, from across the way, Artemis had raised her knees to her chest, eyes glazed over in tears, her hands not bothering to wipe away them away this time. "Happy Father's Day..."

_Going under, I'm going under._

"_...Dad..._" she added in a choked whisper.


End file.
